


Bygone Brothers

by OmniNom



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Family Drama, Gen, Multi, Noah Reader, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader Needs a Hug, Reader-Insert, Spoilers for the Manga, Tags May Change, There WILL be lots of angst and fluff tho, There will be no smut, male reader - Freeform, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:33:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26727499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmniNom/pseuds/OmniNom
Summary: The Noah have always been a very peculiar family, and sometimes they have a hard time understanding each other. They were broken people, but they did their best with what they have. But sometimes, they didn't realize what they had before, until they find something they didn't know they should have been looking for.(A series in which the Reader is Mana and Nea's younger brother, who was lost sometime around the betrayal of the 14th.)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	1. I : My Dear Big Brothers

**Author's Note:**

> So, first things first, Reader is male and is a Noah, so they have the natural ability Noah have to change their skin tone to an extent (caucasian, black, and literally grey), so they do not have set genitalia or skin tone.  
> And for anyone wondering, "how can Reader be related to Mana and Nea when they were the Millennium Earl (the same person) before splitting"? Well, do I have the answer for you: I don't know! I'll figure out some semi-plausible reason later down the line, but other than that, enjoy the fic!

_"What do you think it's like to fly, big brother?"_

_Two pairs of eyes, gleaming a golden brown, look to the youngest of their kin._

_"Which one of us are you asking?" Nea asks, amusement lining his voice as he watched their little brother drag a finger through the dirt, creating images of birds with symbols only recognized by the three of them._

_"Whichever one of you that can answer the question."_

_"Hm," Mana hums as he tilts his head back to look at the cloud splattered sky, "You ever have those dreams of falling? Maybe something like that." Their youngest brother makes a sound that showed his lack of impress, wishing their eldest brother could be a bit more creative._

_"Idiot," Nea teases as he shoves his hands in his pants pockets before rocking back and forth on his heels, "People can dream of actually flying, too. I've had a few dreams like that. It's like being a bird, without needing the wings and whatnot."_

_"Mm."_

_The youngest connects two lines, followed with several dots before tucking his hands between his legs and chest, making him look a touch more pitiable to the twins._

_"What's gotcha so down?"_

_Nea asks, kneeling in front of him as Mana stands at their sides, looking between them curiously._

_"...You're not allowed to tell Mother."_

_That really piqued both of the elder brothers' interests. Nea's eyes grew wide with excitement, and Mana's narrowed in worry and suspicion._

_"Did you do something bad? Did you break something?!"_

_"Tell us! Oh, do tell us! I promise not to tell! I pinkie swear! Come on, you know I'm good for my promises."_

_Nea urged them to link pinkies, and the youngest simply stared at his hand for a moment before quietly nodding and hooking them together. Nea cheered before their brother stood from his place in the dirt before urging his brothers to follow after him._

_\- ~ ~ ~ -_

"Good morning, Sunshine."

That chipper voice always came at the beginning of every week.

You have long since learned to phase out the outside world, though.

Eyes that have long been closed slowly open to find the light overhead flickering _on._

Sounds echo through the chamber, from the long walkway leading to your glass cell. The clicks of shoes and the shuffle of clothing much too loud for such a large room. The sounds come to a stop in front of the door of your transparent prison, but you don't bother to look at the people outside.

"Ophelia, this is our branches' eldest resident." Came an older woman's voice, one you were well acquainted with, but heard much less frequently than the first. Confident and well-coordinated, she was...a strict woman.

"There...certainly were a lot of security measures to come all this way to meet him."

This was a new voice, feminine and young,

Unsure.

"With good reason! (F/n) here _is_ part of the Noah clad." 

Ah, there was the chipper voice again. Masculine and irritating with its vague positivity. He was always acting friendly and unbothered despite the reasons for his presence.

"Noah?"

"Indeed. Do not worry, he can't get free in the state he's in."

There was a beat of silence before a hushed _"if you say so..."._

The door to your cell opens with a sharp pressurized hiss, and a startled gasp comes from the younger woman standing outside.

"Well? Don't just stand around, get in there."

"In there? With _him?!_ "

"Don't worry, he doesn't move much these days! Even if he wanted to get out, we've got Crows keeping an eye on us."

_You could practically **hear** the wink he gave her._

There are more noises, more shuffling, and you feel the presence of others in the collective space of your unwilling home. 

"(F/n), this is Ophelia Vieux. She's going to be taking Cedric's place as your physician and caretaker." Came the older woman's voice. Though it was less an informative statement and a warning to be on your best behavior.

What did you care anymore, anyway?

"Miss...Miss Zima I don't know if I should..."

"This is a prime opportunity for you, Ophelia. Central sent you to use because they trusted you for this position. Do not betray their trust by disappointing them with your inability. Because I will send you back, and I promise, anything they have in mind for your punishment in failure to perform to their expectations; will be much worse than anything this _thing_ can do to you."

"Al-Alright, take it easy! I'll do it!"

A huff comes from the elder before she turns everyone's attention to the task at hand.

"We will be drawing blood today. Last weekend we ran some tests on him and the medical team would like to see if new data was produced as a result."

Then there was clinking, the sound of a bag unzipping, some more metallic sounds before someone was kneeling at the side of your bed. A petite girl with dark hair and doe eyes peered down at you with an expression of unease, her face partially silhouetted by the light overhead.

Your tired eyes slowly blink as you focus your attention on her face, instead of passively staring up towards the tall, dark ceiling.

"H...Hello. I'm Ophelia. I'm going to draw your blood in a second." She said dumbly, as if scared that you were finally responding to her presence. Your eyes glide back into place to look up to the unseeable ceiling.

Small hands shake as they unwrap one of your bandaged arms, soft skin touching tacky, claggy pallid flesh. You were used to Cedric's calloused and cold hands, so the experience was something new to you. Or, not new, but instead unfamiliar.

A pinching sensation could be felt in your arm, something you were much more used to.

The girl looks between you and your arm, focusing on the dark, tired circles around your eyes, and the slightly sunken areas in the rest of your face. You were obviously malnourished, so it was clear you were being starved to some extent in order to keep you under control.

But that just seemed so... _inhuman_ , to her.

It didn't take long for the blood to get drawn and packed away before the girl performed a few other basic tests on you; temperature, heart rate, the works.

"He should probably have something with sugar, right? He's probably going to need it after drawing that much blood from him."

Zima scoffs, crossing her arms and firmly shaking her head.

"He'll be fine. He's dealt with worse."

"But--!"

"Come on Ophelia, we should get this stuff to the lab. Say bye to your new friend!" Cedric cuts in, helping the girl stand.

The three get ready to leave when you hook some of your fingers around her hand. She gasps and flinches before turning to look over her shoulder to see you looking at her, eyes teary, pleading, but unwavering.

"Let's go, Ophelia!" Zima scolds her for stalling, possibly not noticing how the girl was being held back with a few weak, thin fingers.

The three of them were gone in the next few moments, and the light dimmed, before going out completely.

~~You hoped placing the seeds of sympathy would find you a way out of this cold, frozen hell.~~


	2. II : I Hope This Finds You Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader faces unfair treatment when he was just trying to help. But with this, he may have received the key to his freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyy another chapter- with just a bit to our Reader. Save your questions for the end y'all!

_The three of them walked under the hot sun for roughly ten or fifteen minutes. The three brothers had taken a long route along the side of the house, in order to avoid most of the adults inside the manor._

_They ended up in the back of their mother's garden, standing in front of the shed where she stowed away her tools._

_"We really shouldn't be here," Mana had warned in a hushed manner, "What if mother finds us here? Or worse, Uncle Cyrus? Imagine the weird punishments he'd conjur up!"_

_"Oh hush it, Mana. Uncle Cyrus is quack but he's not going to punish us for poking around." Nea brushed off their eldest brother as the youngest opened the door for the others, allowing the three of them to step inside and escape the seering sun._

_It was darker there, with the sunlight outside allowing them to see inside._

_"What're we doing here anyhow? Why did you bring us here, (F/n)?" Nea queried as he hurried to brush off a dangling cobweb clinging to his sleeve._

_The smallest of the trio crept forward into the dark, making the twins chance a look at one another as they heard him rummaging in the shadows. Shortly, he returned to them with a small wooden crate in hand, stuffed with some kind of cloth._

_"What've you got there?" Mana asked softly, attempting to peer inside, the motion akin to a child trying to peek inside a hidden gift._

_"...Remember what you promised."_

_The youngest had mumbled softly as he moved the fabric out of the way to reveal some kind of avian hidden away in the crate. It's feathers were black and red, dotted with areas of grey, with a striking yellow beak._

_"Is that a robin?" Nea asked, louder than any of them would have liked when they were attempting to stay undetected. "Where did you get that? What's it doing here?"_

_"I found it while I was out in the fields the other day. While you and Mana were reading inside with mama. It looks like an American Robin. Not sure what it's doing here of all places, though."_

_There was something in his voice that vaguely sounded like a lie, but neither of the twins would have been able to tell where it was._

_"What's wrong with it?" Mana asks, uncertain as he looked at the poor creature. It's poor little red chest was moving up and down with labored breath, and it's beady eyes couldn't focus on any source of noise or movement._

_The youngest audibly swallowed as he lowered his head._

_"...It's wing is broken."_

_"It's not going to survive, you know."_

_Mana and (F/n) gasped at Nea's blunt words, but he looked unbothered at his siblings' shock. He scoffed and looked away with furrowed brows._

_"Animals don't recover like humans do. They don't recover like **we** do." He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets once more as he glanced between his younger and elder brothers. Mana looked more irritated that he would tell their younger brother such a thing, while the other was shaking his head in disbelief, tears lining his eyes._

_"No. No, you're wrong! I'm going to help it! I'm going to nurse it back to health, I...!" His voice wavered, cracking as he sniffled hard. Mana's eyes teared with empathy for his little brother as his hands twitched, wanting to comfort him in some kind of way after Nea's honest thoughts._

_The sound of their mother humming echoed over the garden, letting them know she was coming to garden._

_"...Get out..." (F/n) whispered harsly._

_"Get out and mind your own business. I don't need your help!"_

_\- ~ ~ ~ -_

It was...Thursday?

Days had very little meaning these days. 

It's been roughly two, maybe three weeks since Ophelia had become your primary caretaker. She's only come into your cell two more times since her initial introduction, from what you remember. Often, she attempted to fill the silence by talking out loud, perhaps to you, perhaps to amuse the handful of Crows that stood in the far shadows of the larger chamber lying just outside of your glass prison.

The girl is here again, attempting to speak to you again. Or at you? She must have known you weren't listening to her. Anything anyone said to you these days sounded like white noise; like the echoed, muffled static of an old radio.

Gibberish.

But she has you sitting up today as she looks over your breathing and heartrate. A hum comes from her as she nervously jots down something on her board.

"Your heart sounds okay...a little slow if we're being honest. There's something wrong with your breathing too. Did you have trouble drinking any water this week? Maybe notice anything different when you're laying down?"

"Damn creature's always laying around." Came a rare jab from one of the hidden Crows, with another uncommon laugh from another. Ophelia huffs through her nose at their disturbance but doesn't say much else. She moves away from your side as she scribbles down more words, thinking quietly to herself before turning towards you.

"I'll see if I can have the Medical team make something for that. I might have to go and grab some more equipment to get a better look in your chest cavity. But that may take awhile, so some antibiotics should keep any inflammation at bay for the time being. Okay?"

But her concerned words were met with silence.

She sighs before announcing to the two Crows closest to the far exit door that she was ready to take her leave. The girl helps you lay back down, glancing back at you as the two Crows approach your cell.

"Noah, we are opening the entrance to your cell. You are expected to stay where you are and are forewarned not to make any sudden movements towards the entrance. Any aggressive posture may be met with hostile action."

The same old song and dance.

The glass door slides open, allowing the dark haired girl to step out with her papers and tools into the secured presence of the Crows. However, it's when the door is sliding closed her white labcoat is caught in the frame, causing her to stumble and fall back, dropping everything she was carrying in her arms.

She's expecting to meet pain in the back of her head and possibly a cracked skull, but she doesn't feel anything.

It feels like she's been paralyzed, and she was only able to move her eyes. From where she could see, several of her items were suspended in midfall, her clipboard and pen hovering still a few inched from her face. Her chest starts to hurt, unable to force herself to breathe.

"Noah, deactivate your ability! _Now!_ "

One of the Crows kneels to catch the young woman before she can hit the ground, but she can feel herself become reanimated, and she can hears her belongings clatter to the ground below.

"What was...?"

"Noah, in the usage of your ability, you will be dealt with an appropriate punishment. Your punishment will be assigned to you once an appropriate report has been submitted to the proper authori--"

"Do you ever...get tired of...talk...king...like that?"

Ophelia was shocked to hear the cracked, gravelly voice come from inside the glass chamber.

"Noah, you are violati--"

"Violations, rules, punishments...You can't...even thank me for hel...for helping your comrade."

" _Quiet,_ Noah!"

Ophelia happens a glance over her shoulder where the Crows had started guiding her towards the second exit. The first making promises of an appropriate ruling as to how you should be punished for using your power. 

You were slumped over the side of your bed, where you had initially been standing prior. Your chest was heaving, your skin slick with sweat, your normal human skin replaced with patches of ashy grey.

You looked a lot like a bird in a cage.

_You looked like you were dying._

Ophelia doesn't have time to ask any further questions before she's being shoved into an elevator with one of the Crows.

\- = = = -

"Madam Zima I really don't think we should be punishing (F/n)."

"Don't use his name, girl. You'll only humanize him more than he ever should be."

"Ma'am, please, he was just trying to help!"

"Help?" The silvery-blond haired woman asked, tapping her pen against the surface of her desk. Ophelia swallowed hard as the woman rises to her feet, the heels of her shoes clacking loud against the hardwood of her office as she rounded her desk.

"Tell me, what do you know of the Noah clan? Do you think they have _ever_ helped anyone? All they have ever helped in doing is destroy humanity. They have created orphans and widows, grieving siblings and mothers and fathers. Why do you think that is, Miss Vieux?"

"M...Ma'am please I...I meant no offense." The small woman shrunk into herself as the elder peered down at her, hands pressed behind her back as her eyes crutinized the meek girl before her.

"Thirty-five years ago, we found that man in the middle of the frozen tundras of Northern Siberia...He had decimated four cities, taking an what could only be estimated of 300,000 human lives. Many others couldn't be counted because we _couldn't find their bodies."_

The young woman looks at her feet, letting the heavy atmosphere engulf the two of them and the Head's assistant, who had been standing at the back of the room awkwardly.

"...He spoke."

"It's a trivial thing. His words have no real meaning anymore. It's a surprise he hasn't lost his god damn mind laying in that bed everyday for the last five years."

"How long has he been here?"

"Hm," Zima hums, stepping back around her desk to reseat herself, "That's not really information you've been cleared to access. But what the hell, if you're as good as Central says you are, I figure you'll be here a good, long while."

The woman lights a cigerette, despite her assistant's protests, sighing softly as she inhales the burning nicotine.

"I'd say about fifteen, twenty years maybe? Hard to say. I only received a certain extent of access to his file after I became head of the Arctic Branch. All I know is that he's the only member of the Noah clan we've ever been able to keep captive. But..."

Ophelia lifts her head, curiosity mixed into her confused expression at how her Boss paused.

Zima blows out a cloud of smoke with a sigh before she closes her eyes, feeling a painful headache starting to form.

"Part of me thinks he just doesn't want to get out anymore."

\- = = = -

The next several weeks were hard.

You were _brutilized_ as a result of using your Noah ability, and your skin had been marred with dark purples and blues as a result.

Ophelia, on the other hand, had been digging around in places she shouldn't be.

Forbidden sections of the old medical lab that no one was allowed were broken into, where Ophelia happened to snatch a few old security tapes.

That had been her first mistake.

Her second one?

Watching them.

They had been from the time when you had first gotten here. You had seemed so... _alive._ You fought tooth and nail every time someone tried to draw blood, you had mauled several Crows and caretakers when they would come near you- among other unmentionable, _horrible_ things. The only reason you hadn't managed to escape was because the glass of your cage was sealed with intense Crow magic.

But things had taken a turn after several monthes, close to an entire two years passing since your initial containment. 

_"Your clan is dead,"_ A man had told you one day, short and aging, his voice raspy but wise. _"I can't say I'm sorry for your loss."_

You had been in denial at first- behemently stating that your fellow Noah would find you, _free you,_ that any day now they would come for you.

But you started to crack.

Film of you breaking down and crying out for your family, sometimes by name, sometimes by a petname, but most of the time, you cried, begged, for your brothers.

It broke a very human, very stupid, part of Ophelia's soft heart.

The next time she was due to see you, she had managed to pursuade your meal preppers to allow her to bring a little something special.

"(F/n)," she had greated when she had stepped into your room, a bright smile on her petite face, "I've got a treat with me today."

You've been responding a bit more to her these last few weeks, giving a grunt or a look when she spoke to you. She took it in stride, believing it to be success on her part. 

She joins you by your bedside, kneeling to set your tray of food down on your bedside table. Ophelia helps you sit up, making you grunt as she looks you over. You were healing very slowly- much slower than someone like you was supposed to. Weren't Noah supposed to be inhumanly strong? Able to heal from the most mundane injuries? That's what rumors had her think, anyways.

"We've got some simple fruits and veggies, but I managed to get you some dessert. You like sugary stuff, right?" She asked softly, grabbing a piece of sliced apple for you.

"I...do...." You mumbled softly, making her pause and inhale sharply before she has you bite into the bit of apple.

She feeds you before your tray was almost completely empty, and she holds up a bowl of warm doughy bits covers in syrup and cinnamon.

The smells triggers something in your memory.

As she helps you eat your dessert, you grasp at the hand feeding you, making her gasp loudly, and undoubedly making the hidden Crows tense in response. Tears were suddenly spilling over your eyelids, and Ophelia was quick to wipe them away with a napkin.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean...It's not...Does it taste bad?"

You violently shake your head, bringing your wrist up to hide your eyes and tears as you sniffled and your lip trembled.

"No it's good...It's good....but it's...too much."

Ophelia stops for a moment, before nodding in understanding. "Okay...Let's take it slow. There's not much left, okay? Then you can go back to bed."

You nod, and she helps you finish your food.

Afterwards, she's wiping your lips free of crumbs, having you hold the tray from underneath as she busied herself. But one of her hands slips underneath the tray with your's, pressing something that felt quite like paper or perhaps fabric into your fingers.

"There. All done. I need to go now."

She rises to her feet, moving to grab the tray from your hands, making sure that you hid whatever it was she passed off to you in your hands as she took the tray. Ophelia yells out for the Crows, letting them know she was ready to take her leave. They come for her, eyeing you warily as they allow her to step out. As she's walking away, she offers a glance over her shoulder at you, and as the lights are dimming around you, you happen a peek into what she had handed off to you, and your eyes widen.

_A talisman._

Slowly, you move to lay on your side, tucking the magic-laced paper under your pillow as you were engulfed once more in darkness,

And for once, unlike many, many nights you had been trapped here in the Order, you dream.

_~ \ * \ ~_

A confused noise escapes a young girl's lips, her brows pressing together as she lifts her head from where she had been peering uninterested at her homework. This draws the attention of her doting father and her uncle, where they had been enjoying an afternoon tea together.

"Something wrong, Road?" Her father had asked, but she had uncharacterisfically shook her head in silence as she looked back to her schoolwork.

Much like a spiderweb trailing at the end of her clothes, she felt like something was trying to cling onto her. But no matter how hard she attempted to swat it away or wipe it off, she could still feel it.

Her eyes close, and her mind falls back into a deeper, darker state.

_The world of Dreams; her realm and personal playground._

_She tries to squint, eyes piercing through the darkness. She takes a step, two, and something crunches underneath her foot. The young woman looks down, finding her bare foot sunken into powdery snow._

_Where was this?_

_Walking further, the terrain changes, cold fluffy snow becomes cold, bare walls. It's dark, but there, she finds a small beacon of light in the dark. To her it looked like someone, laying on a bed in a vast empty space. She walks around them, to the side where their face was visible. It was a young man, skin littered in marks of blunt pain; bruises and cuts marred once smoothed, lovely skin._

_Reaching her fingers out, she brushes his hair out of his face, and her eyes fall to the crown of his head, and they widen._

_Stigmata?_

As soon as she was there, she was yanked back out, gasping as her chair in the physical world rocks back from the force of it. Sheril and Tyki once again offer the young woman questioning looks.

"...Where did you just go, Road?"

But the young woman shakes her head, eyes narrowing as her hands curl into fists.

"I don't know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So!! Reader's ability is *not* telekinesis if that's what any of y'all were thinking. I've also figured out what his Noah name will be and what memory he'll be for the Noah. Also! Katerina, from what I understand, actually loves gardening and singing so I hope I made that clear!  
> Also kudos for anyone who gets the connection to certain things I did in this story, or if you can guess what his Noah representation will be >:3c  
> Also, this takes place before the collapse of the Ark, but after Krory has become an Exorcist to clear up time and plots points :)  
> I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments! And I'll see y'all in the next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Heeeeey, listen I know I have a lot of fics I need to update but I work with whatever motivation I got. Anyways, tell me what you thought! Anything you wanna see from this series? Don't get used to any of the characters here, they won't be around long :)  
> Thanks for reading! See y'all next time ;D


End file.
